Justice
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: A young Tony learns to trust that what goes around comes around.  This is part of my Fate series.
1. Presumption of Guilt

Presumption of Guilt

"No," Maria answered firmly, turning back around to finish working in the flower bed. She had a flat of flowers to add to the garden. She began digging again.

Tony threw his head back in frustration and then knelt beside her. "Stop, Abuela, please! Don't say that, por favor. You didn't even take any time thinking about it before you said no."

Maria turned to look at him, placing a hand over her eyes to shade them from the bright Mexican sun.

Giving her his best beseeching voice, he puffed his bottom lip out into a pout as he regarded her. "Abuela, you are the only grandparent to say no all the time. Everybody else's grandmamma lets them do things!"

She regarded the little boy and spoke quietly, "Antonio, enough- I do not want to hear anymore about this. I have answered you. La repuesta es no. The answer is still no, you may not go with Felipe's family to Campeche. I don't care if I am the only grandmamma to say no or not. You belong to me, and you are not going. That is the decision."

Her explanation did nothing to soothe the seven year old, and he ignored her warning and plunged ahead anyway, begging as he tried to make her agree. "Abuela, all I want to do is go with them to Campeche. They invited me themselves, and you are not even giving me any reason why you won't let me go. That is mean and unfair, and you didn't even give me any reason for saying no."

Maria stood up slowly, then brushed the dirt from her hands before she spoke. "I believe I told you I will not listen to any more on this same subject. Furthermore, Bambino, I do not have to give you a reason for saying you can not go. The conversation is finished for both of us, Antonio. This is now a count of one. Keep this going, and keep disobeying, and you will earn a punishment. Comprendes?"

He did not plan to accept the decision without more of a fight. His voice rose with unhappiness. "No, I don't understand! This is not fair at all, and…"

She interrupted firmly, in the voice Tony knew contained the warning tone before he got into serious trouble, "Two, Tony, and …."

Nevertheless, he interrupted again, throwing his hands into the air dramatically. "You don't even have a reason for saying no! You just don't want me to have a good time or any fun, Abuela."

"Three," she announced firmly, then pointed towards the house. "Go inside right now, Young Man, and go straight to your room. Immediatamente- immediately-"

Tony opened his mouth to argue about that decision, but taking a good look at her expression, self preservation finally put in an appearance. He turned and stomped his way inside the house, decidedly unhappy and displeased with her lack of cooperation, and Maria watched him go with a shake of her head.

She resumed her flower planting, taking her time to finish the task at hand, and deliberately calming down before she headed into the house. Tony's upset concerned her. It was not often that her baby acted in such a defiant manner, and it bothered her that he wanted to be in the company of the newcomers so much.

A new family had moved onto the outskirts of their village the week before, and one of the boys, Felipe, was Tony's age. Their community was a small one, and all of the kids tended to socialize with one another, though some with others at a greater extent.

The kids from the new family, all three of them, caused problems almost from the second that they arrived. That fact lay in the irresponsibility of their parents, who allowed their offspring to do as they pleased. So their young ones pretty much ran wild, which managed to alienate the other parents from the newcomer parents, but had the village children wishing to join the fun of the three siblings. They envied the liberty that Felipe and his brothers enjoyed.

From that point the refrain of all the other children to their parents in the village had been to argue that Felipe and his brothers didn't have to follow rules, so why should they?

Felipe and his family had decided on a shopping trip to Campeche, and they planned to spend the afternoon. They had invited Tony to accompany them, but Maria refused to let him go, despite Tony's impassioned pleas. She had no intention of allowing her baby to wander the streets of Campeche unsupervised or even semi-supervised with a family like that.

This morning, though, Tony would not accept no for an answer, and had attempted to wear down Maria's resolve with his words.

Not only had his strategy not worked, but now he was in additional trouble for backtalking her.

Tony lay across his bed staring at the ceiling of his bedroom and sulking when Maria went to check a while later. He had one arm thrown over his eyes, but had managed to keep a scowl intact, and his bottom lip pushed into a pout for added effect.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. "Antonio, look at me please, por favor."

He obeyed, meeting her gaze but once again puffing his lip out in his trademark pout so that she would have no doubt about his unhappiness, or that he had spent his time out brooding.

"You will stay in your room until lunch time because of your disrespect. You know better than to talk back, and you know better than to argue. No longer are you four or five. You are seven, and capable of stopping yourself from saying something you shouldn't. Usted sabe mejor- you know better. I am unhappy that you chose to do both, backtalking and arguing, when you have been taught to act with respect and manners, Antonio."

That did not please the child, and he deliberately turned over on the bed so that he no longer faced her.

Reacting instantly to the impertinence, Maria narrowed her eyes and spoke sharply, in the voice Tony tried never to invoke, "Turn to me and sit up right this minute, Bambino! Instantaneamente!"

He scrambled up quickly- immediately, as per her order. Though determined to share his misery, he also understood that her displeasure with him had scaled a new height, and he recognized that he had pushed her too far.

"Now, because of that rudeness just now, there will be no going outdoors to play after you eat, either," she announced.

Tony flinched, and his eyes filled. Lying on his bed the past half hour, he had consoled himself that at least he could play with his friends later in the day, even if he still did not have the Campeche excursion. Now he had lost that and the rest of his day just looked bleak.

"Am I clear, Antonio? Do you understand?" Maria raised an eyebrow and waited for his response.

He replied quietly. "Si, yes, Abuela, I understand. Lo siento- I apologize for being disrespectful."

Nodding, Maria left him and made her way to the spacious kitchen. Maria's sister planned to join them for supper, and Maria wanted to prepare flan for dessert.

Having served his punishment, after lunch Tony was allowed to leave his room. However, he could not join his friends or play with them through the afternoon. He moped instead.

Jethro had not made it down to Mexico yet, but would arrive in a few days, so Maria and Tony had the house to themselves. When Tony joined her she noticed that his mood had improved with his time out, and she smiled in relief.

After supper Maria sat with her sister in the courtyard, rocking gently as the daylight faded, and talking quietly. Lorenzo, Maria's teenaged nephew, was getting himself ready to go out for the evening, but Tony desperately wanted to spend time with him. Tony hero worshipped his older cousin, and Lorenzo had proved very patient and loving with the little boy from the moment he met him.

When Maria told Tony to go take his bath, he protested at once, begging for time with Lorenzo, and Maria started to count again. The teen managed to save Tony from another punishment by telling the child he would go help him get his bath started, but then that he would have to leave to take his own shower. Tony happily agreed, and swinging on Lorenzo's hand, made his way into the house.

Half an hour later Tony navigated his battery controlled race car around the courtyard, clean and pajamaed.

Maria and her sister discussed plans for later in the week, and debated making a trip into Campeche to visit some of the vendors. Tony stopped playing when he heard the talk of Campeche. Putting down his car, he leaned against Maria's legs as she rocked. She tilted his head back for a kiss, then pulled him onto her lap. He snuggled immediately, but then sat straight up and regarded her suspiciously.

"This is not time for me to go to bed, Abuela," he pointed out.

Tia smiled and leaned over to tousle his hair. "You are a clever boy, Antonio."

Tony grinned and settled back against Maria, raising both of his arms behind him so that he could rub his Abuela's hair. Maria winked conspiratorially at her sister. That constituted a sure sign that Tony needed to sleep. She caressed his cheek and regarded him. His eyes were green and very shimmery, and Tony had been blessed with long, gorgeous eyelashes to frame them. He grinned up at her.

The little boy rearranged himself so that he could sit sideways and watch Maria's sister, using one hand to rub his eyes, and the other to stroke Maria's hair. "Tia," he complained, "Abuela, abuela mia, will not let me go to Campeche and have fun. Ella no me dejara ir. I asked her nicely, too."

Maria raised her eyebrows, and told her sibling the name of the family who had issued the invitation.

His aunt nodded, savvy to the problem at once, and answered soothingly, "She is right, though, that we do not know this family well enough for the baby to go with them, ok? No los conozco."

Tony scowled, "I am not a baby anymore. Yo soy grande, Tia."

"Si," she smiled, then blew a kiss his way.

He giggled, and rubbed his face in the front of his abuela's dress before rearranging himself yet once again.

Fifteen minutes later Lorenzo returned, dressed for his evening out and there to tell his mother and aunt good bye. Tony slept soundly in Maria's lap. He leaned down and kissed both, then asked, "Tia Maria, why don't I carry the muchacho to bed for you?"

She nodded, and he carefully picked up Tony and carried him through the house to the little boy's room. He rocked him gently in his arms as Maria hurried to pull down the covers. Tony didn't even wake when Lorenzo slid him between the sheets and his abuela kissed him good night.


	2. Presumption of Innocence

Presumption of Innocence

The next day dawned bright and promising, and Tony made sure that he stayed out of trouble. His good behavior earned a reward when Maria gave permission for him to head to the park and play until lunch.

Tony joined the other kids there, and when the children saw him approach they began preparations for a pick up soccer game. Tiny though he was, Tony always ended up as the soccer headliner, due to his natural athletic ability. The game was in full swing ten minutes later when Felipe and his brothers appeared. Ignoring the players already assembled, they quickly pushed their way in to the thick of the activity. One by one, the usual players dropped out of the game, not able to contend with the changing rules Felipe's family suddenly instigated.

Tony managed to outlast the rest, and afterwards, he joined the three newcomers as they sought other entertainment. So involved was Tony that he almost forgot to get home for lunch on time, but at the last minute he made it through the door.

As he ate, he enlightened Maria with the information that his new friend did not have to go to bed at a certain time, nor did he have to ask permission to go to one place or another.

"That is his family's problem," Maria summarized, then gently corrected Tony, "wipe your mouth with your napkin, not your hand."

He rolled his eyes, having learned that particularly dramatic touch one previous afternoon when Felipe had introduced Tony to his mother. She had questioned why Felipe's shirt was torn, and Felipe had told her the truth, that he had shimmied up a tree and had caught it on a branch. She began fussing, and he rolled his eyes and turned to Tony, "Let's get out of here. She just gets ridiculous." With that, he pulled Tony back outside to play, and Tony digested the interaction he had witnessed, suitably impressed.

Maria, however, did not find the rolling of eyes a response she planned to ignore, and after a sharp smack to his bottom, Tony found himself in time out, yet once again, for the next hour.

In the next few days Tony further shared that Felipe did not have a bedtime or chores that he had to complete before any fun time came his way. In fact, nearly every directive Maria gave elicited one of Tony's responses about the freedom and enviable lifestyle allowed Felipe.

Maria countered with the fact that Felipe did not belong to her, and therefore, he was not her responsibility. Antonio was, however, and therefore, he would be put to bed when she said and would follow the rules he had assigned to him at home.

Tony's envy of his buddy's carefree lifestyle still increased, nevertheless.

A few days later Lorenzo came upon a group of kids hiding beside the roadway. He wouldn't have noticed them had an egg not sailed over the hood of his car. Jumping out to investigate, he discovered the children scurrying to run, leaving the dozens of eggs they had planned to throw at passing motorists. Recognizing his own baby cousin and some of Tony's friends amongst the group, the usually calm young man lost his temper- big time.

Grabbing Tony by the arm and ordering the boys to him, he delivered a blistering lecture and promised dire consequences should they ever participate in such an activity as egging vehicles again. Once satisfied with their remorse, he ordered the kids back into the village, though he still held Tony in an iron grip. Felipe and his brothers watched the children hurry to obey, and laughed delightedly, calling out insults as they disappeared from sight. They stood united at the edge of the road, watching Lorenzo. He turned to them and promised that he would visit their parents, then opened the car door and ordered Tony to get in and get himself buckled.

Tony wanted to act as tough as the three delinquents who remained, so he stood with his arms crossed defiantly and a mutinous look on his face.

Lorenzo leaned down and promised, "Primo, if you do not get in this car right now- Antonio, I will make sure you regret it."

Tony looked from Lorenzo to the boys and climbed into the vehicle.

He stayed in the car, but watched as Lorenzo reported the incident to Felipe's dad. The man looked annoyed at the interruption, and then offered the excuse that the children would not obey either his wife or him, so there was nothing he could do about their behavior.

That really angered Lorenzo, and when they got home to Tia's, he ordered Tony to go straight to his own home, then called him back as the little boy obeyed and headed towards the door. In no uncertain terms, he assured him that if he ever caught him participating in anything like that again, he'd share his knowledge with Tony's papa and abuela, immediately. Tony nodded and licked his lips, knowing that information like that would lead to his getting spanked. He appreciated Lorenzo's clemency.

Nevertheless, when he got home he complained over and over to Maria that too many people bossed him around all the time. In Felipe's house, he pointed out, no one bossed Felipe at all.

However, the next couple of days Tony and his friends played closer to their own homes, thus avoiding the troublemakers, who lived on the outskirts of town. None of his set really wanted to go up against Lorenzo.

An afternoon later all of the kids had again gathered at the playground, and Felipe and his brothers informed the group that they planned to shoplift from one of the village shops. They bragged that they had pursued this activity on numerous occasions at their last home, and Tony and the others listened wide eyed.

Excited at the prospect of having an audience to witness their cunning, they invited Tony and his group to accompany them to the store, where they would station themselves outside to witness the spoils of the heist when the brothers made their getaway.

The plan did not go exactly as scheduled, because within a couple of minutes the store owner realized that the brothers were stealing. He grabbed Felipe by the arm, and recognized the other brothers as they abandoned their sibling and ran to hide. Tony and his group drew back in shock as two members of the family burst out of the store and ran past them, and then as the store owner yanked Felipe to the entrance and yelled after them.

A crowd quickly surrounded the aggrieved man and the culprit, and Tia, who had been purchasing fruit not too far away, went to investigate. She spied Tony in the group of watching children and ordered him to her. Grabbing him by the shoulders, she demanded he explain what had transpired, and when he sputtered out the story, she summoned the other children and sent every one of them home.

Tony started to obey, but she jerked him back. "Sobring, si alguna vez hablar de que estas jugando con los ninos de nuevo, se vera en problemas- Nephew, if I hear of you playing with those boys again you will be in bad trouble. You are finished playing with them, or socializing with them. Go home immediately."

He shook his head affirmatively, his eyes wide with fear at the scene he'd witnessed and the thought that he would be punished. She turned him loose and he hurried away, worried about his own future.

When Maria understood the entire story she reacted with horror. She punished Tony immediately for not divulging the shoplifting plans to an adult, and she further laid down the law. His abuela ordered that he no longer could hang out or play with Felipe or his brothers.

He voiced his protests loudly and immediately.

Not in the mood to hear Tony's defense or his pleas to reconsider his penalty, she smacked his bottom with a stinging slap and sent him to bed early. The day's events greatly disturbed and worried her, and she did not appreciate Tony's argument.

Later, when she went in to kiss him good night, he sat up in bed and held out his arms to her, his lip puffed out into a pout. Maria's heart tugged, and she crossed to the bed and kissed him, then picked him up and carried her boy to the rocker.

As they settled into the rhythm of the rocking chair, she explained how the afternoon's events had frightened her. He listened attentively as she pointed out that Tony had been way too near the problem. She talked to him about upbringing, and parental responsibility, and the fact that the lifestyle practiced in their household stood polar opposite to Felipe's. Then softly singing and rocking gently, she held him as he fell asleep, one of his hands tangled in her hair.

That night Felipe and his brothers sneaked back to the store, angry over the fact that the store owner had shamed them and had decided to press charges. They set it on fire, maliciously lighting it from three different starting points.

Luckily, a couple out for a late stroll saw the smoke and hurriedly summoned help. The townspeople responded immediately, forming a water brigade and gaining control of the blaze within minutes.

There was damage, though, despite the best efforts of the citizens.

Law enforcement and arson investigators came from Campeche, and it took very little investigating to lead them back to Felipe, his brothers, and his family. The children turned on each other, sealing their fates by accusing each other. The parents were effectively charged with the crime and forced to pay restitution. Rather than face jail, the father and mother agreed to move from the area, closer to Mexico City. In addition, they turned the children over to relatives who could better handle upbringing and discipline. The relatives, the maternal grandparents, lost no time in immediately enrolling all three boys in a school designed as part reform/ part military. The adults of the town found that decision poetic justice.

Tony and his pals settled back into the relationship and routine they had enjoyed before the outsiders arrived on the scene.

Watching a television show a couple of weeks later, Tony turned to his father for clarification. "Daddy, what is that justice? What did the man on the show mean when he said that justice was done?"

Gibbs looked up from his crossword. "It means that the right thing has happened, the fair thing, and that the guilty person has gotten what he or she deserved."

Tony jumped up and grinned, then held one leg and hopped over to his abuela.

Crawling into Maria's lap, he pulled her down for a kiss as he spoke, "We know justice, right Abuela? Justice is Felipe laughed at all of us because we had to obey our parents and grandparents all the time when he didn't, but now he has to do everything complete strangers tell him he has to do. Que es las justicia. That is justice!"


End file.
